Robert Pullman is the newest hero in the fight for safety in the workplace. For over 25 years, Pullman was an exhibit specialist for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

Last year, he and the other employees were informed for the first time that the walls they had been drilling into for decades contained asbestos. Every time that Pullman and his coworkers would update or change out an exhibit, drilling would release asbestos fibers into the air without any protective equipment or precautions.

Seeking justice, Pullman contacted the Washington Post and told them about the asbestos danger. He also filed several workplace safety complaints, for which he was reprimanded. He even took private air and dust samples to test for asbestos.

Soon after, Pullman was diagnosed with asbestosis, a form of lung disease linked to asbestos exposure.  He took legal action against the Smithsonian Institute that ended in a substantial settlement and severance pay, retraction of the negative letters in his file, the launching of a more extensive investigation into the health hazards in the Smithsonian buildings, and the implementation of better, safer policies.

It is brave, driven employees like Pullman who make the world a safer place for their coworkers. Despite opposition from his employer, Pullman persevered in his pursuit of justice. Workers should not have to worry about the safety of their work environment. Partly due to Pullman’s efforts, Smithsonian exhibit employees will now receive more comprehensive asbestos training and safety equipment, as well as access to a physician contracted by the company.

There is an asbestos scare in Lee County, Florida.

A few days ago, asbestos was discovered in some of the fill dirt being used in a construction project that involves widening Summerlin Road and building an overpass. The Summerlin Road project is in the hands of Posen Construction, a company who has already established a track record with Lee County of inappropriate use of asbestos.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow and others are concerned that the asbestos found in the fill dirt may pose a health risk not only to the workers who handled it but also to the surrounding public. This is a legitimate worry considering the well-known harmful effects of exposure to asbestos. However, the very nature of asbestos makes it difficult to tell what the risk may be since the damage that asbestos causes to the body only surfaces many years after exposure.

Asbestos exposure has been linked to several serious diseases including asbestosis, a form of lung disease, and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is extremely difficult to diagnose. Because it can take up to 30 years after exposure for symptoms of the cancer to become apparent, a diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually fatal.

The main problem that Lee County is having with the discovery of this asbestos is determining the source. The county is waiting by to take legal action against Posen, but the company, of course, denies any blame. It is possible that the asbestos may have come from an old water pipe that, when incorrectly dealt with, released asbestos into the surrounding dirt. It is also possible that the dirt bought by Posen from Fort Myers landfill may have been contaminated without Posen’s knowledge.

Either way, it is important that Lee County get to the bottom of this breakout. Posen has been given 10 days to organize a clean-up, but that is not enough. It is not sufficient to simply remove the asbestos. The Lee County community deserves to know exactly what happened and the guilty party identified to make sure that the long-term health of thousands of innocent people is protected.